Ellensburg fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Ellensburg, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Ellensburg.
Air quality and wind in Ellensburg
Fire weather alerts for Ellensburg
Wildfire history near Ellensburg
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Ellensburg. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Ellensburg
Peak months: June, July, August — 75% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
3 days in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups, 2 of them above 55.4 µg/m³ (unhealthy for everyone). The worst day was August 4, 2026 at 81.9 µg/m³. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Major fires near Ellensburg this year
Largest wildfires near Ellensburg since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Ellensburg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Range 12 | 176,600 | 2016 | Yakima, WA | 32 mi |
| Schneider Springs | 107,322 | 2021 | Yakima, WA | 30 mi |
| Evans Canyon | 75,817 | 2020 | Yakima, WA | 15 mi |
| Boylston | 71,200 | 2018 | Kittitas, WA | 13 mi |
| Norse Peak | 52,056 | 2017 | Yakima, WA | 39 mi |
| Retreat | 45,601 | 2024 | Yakima, WA | 31 mi |
Most recent fires near Ellensburg
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildhorse | 20 | 2026-09-26 | 28 mi |
| Tarpiscan | 20 | 2026-09-16 | 29 mi |
| Sutherland | 130 | 2026-09-05 | 40 mi |
| Ahtanum # 2 | 19 | 2026-08-28 | 32 mi |
| Goat | 815 | 2026-08-22 | 40 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Ellensburg right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Ellensburg from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Ellensburg?
From 2016 to 2025, 317 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Ellensburg — about 32 a year — burning 1,091,702 acres in total. 75% of them started in June, July and August.
What was the biggest fire near Ellensburg?
The Range 12 Fire (2016), 176,600 acres, which started about 32 miles from Ellensburg in Yakima County.
Is the air quality in Ellensburg safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Ellensburg and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Ellensburg had 3 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Ellensburg
Save Ellensburg in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.